


The Bride of the Four Horsemen

by Oreana



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, F/M, Harems, Love Confessions, Multi, NSFW, Polyamorous Character, Polyamory, older!chocobros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 11:09:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15023270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oreana/pseuds/Oreana
Summary: And with God and Oracle left in mere crimson memory, the world of Eos turned to decay and darkness…relying on steam and a miracle to bring them back to light once more.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A small little steampunk AU for a request from a friend who knew I wouldn’t write it unless she asked me to. lol Thanks for the push, dear. 
> 
> The point of view will change now and again and be signaled by a divider. If the reader is nearby, it’ll be first person, but if she’s not in the scene, it’ll be third person omniscient. 
> 
> I made the bio cards so I wouldn't have to write several chapters of exposition and clarify a few things.

 

_When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not damage the oil and the wine.”_

**Name** : Prompto Argentum

 **Age** : 30

 **Title(s)** : The Horseman of Famine (or just by Famine), The Gunman (or The Sniper mostly in Niflheim)

 **Position(s)** : Engineer/Gunner/Chocobo breeder

 **Aggro** : “You’re quite brave, I’ll give you that, but nobody gets past me and my crew to my brothers or my bride!”

 **Slaying a target** : “One shot!”

                        “Sorry it had to be this way, but I did give you a warning.”

 **Defeat** : “No…it can’t…end this way…Y/N, I am sorry…I tried…!”

             “Please, no..! Preserve...my family..!”

 **Diary of the Bride** : He was always and still continues to be everybody’s pillar of support and sunshine even as the nights have grown colder and longer. I swear, he is like the sun reincarnated, and I would have it no other way in such trying times. 

When he used to lie in bed, slowly dying of that horrible disorder I feared the worst…I feared our light would go out, but I stayed in bed beside him—refusing to leave him during his worse of times as he does so often for us. With the aid of Ignis, he did find his feet and faith yet again, and I am relived, but I still fear that he suffers in silence…merely keeping it quiet so as not to burden us. 

I’ve given him what control of the Arcadia airship that I can as I trust him the most, and I know with that responsibility he’s grown into a fine warrior and a man who is not afraid to risk his life for us as we try and keep our ground in this horrible world of suffocating darkness. 

Prompto…my light, my pillar, my husband—I will do anything for you need you only ask. 

Y/N

 **Mini-Bio** : When the world of Eos was dying in the encroaching night, sky pirates and a world of steam became more prevalent over time, leading to the Bride and her airship, The Arcadia, being one of the first few. When Noctis took to the skies with Y/N, Prompto followed his friend and joined her ranks as not only one of her finest gunmen, but as one of her four husbands. 

Trying to aid Lucis in standing a bit longer with the falling of the gods and the light, Prompto became known as the Horseman of Famine due to his mostly stealing food and, later, distributing it evenly amongst the Lucians or young children he would spy on the streets (even in the enemy empire). While the people consider him the Horseman of Famine for this reason alone, the joking title turned to a more literal sense for the crew when it seemed Prompto was nearly dying from an eating disorder due to having ‘given up’ on the world when the last of its light went out and people began turning into monsters literally and figuratively when it came to survival. While he regained his hope in his lover’s encouragement and his friend’s as well, he still struggles with the future and what it is they are truly even fighting for anymore when Eos continues to rot around them. 

Prompto was the first to engineer the data goggles that most of his friends have—goggles that have all sorts of information put within them and can be toggled in regards to plant life, daemons, humans, and city information. While he finds the most comfort and relaxation in tending to the chocobos on the ship, he does enjoy in the company of the men and women he’s been given control of in regards to the crew that man the guns and other weapons to keep the airship safe. 

The gunman mostly wears black, seeming to collaborate with the horseman motif and even has a pair of balancing scales etched into his belt buckle and seen as a tattoo under his left wrist. 

* * *

_When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him._

**Name** : Gladiolus Amicitia

 **Age** : 33

 **Title(s)** : The Horseman of War (or just War), The Steadfast Clockwork Soldier, the Red Wall (the Shield by close companions and shipmates and sometimes known as the Blood Wall in Niflheim).

 **Position(s)** : Quartermaster/Blacksmith/Aids in the task of Navigator (when Ignis lost his sight)

 **Aggro** : “Lay a hand on those I love, and you will pay with your life…”

            “You cannot get past my defenses for I have the strength of my brothers and my Bride to aid in my resistance against your pathetic attempts to bring us down.”

 **Slaying a target** : “No mercy!”

                             “To uphold and preserve the honor of my King, my brothers, and my Bride, I will see to it your life is forfeit.”

 **Defeat** : “Iggy…They are coming through…! **_Stop them_** …!”

             “My Bride…I did everything in your honor…forgive me!”

 **Diary of the Bride** : No shield in all of Eos could compare to the resilience and protection that Gladio has given us when it comes to aiding us away from evil that pervades this world. Always the first one into battle, he has shown his dedication time and time again to me to where I feel the safest in his arms. 

There was a time I feared we would lose him once when he took heavy damage from a fellow airship in Niflheim’s airspace, but thanks to ingenuity and a toughness within him that would cease to die out, he was spared. I know there are times he feels less of a man because of it, but he is still the ever charming, loving, and protective Shield that he was those many years ago when I first met him. 

My husband, if it pleases you, I will always remind you that you’re still very much flesh and blood and a warrior whom we adore given the many selfless sacrifices you’ve made along our journey to see to it we thrive in this dying world. 

Gladio, I will always feel secured, loved, and wanted in your warm embrace no matter what hell threatens to rain down upon us. Continue to be steadfast, my love and remember that we too are here for you to lessen your burdens. 

Y/N

 **Mini-Bio** : When the world of Eos was dying in the encroaching night, sky pirates and a world of steam became more prevalent over time, leading to the Bride and her airship, The Arcadia, being one of the first few. When Noctis took to the skies with Y/N, Gladiolus followed his friend and liege and joined her ranks as not only one of her finest warriors and protectors, but as one of her four husbands. 

He is one of the four horsemen of the Arcadia that is a bit more widely known given his brutality when it comes to fighting daemons or enemy airships alike. Because of his heavy blade he carries and the blood as well that is marred upon it, he was given the nickname the Horseman of War though more widely known in Niflheim as the Blood Shield as he has been known to pummel enemies with his shield, deemed impassable by most when people have fought to get onto their airship to kill the Bride or even obtain her on the battlefield. 

During an air raid, Gladiolus took heavy damage for his team to the point his left leg (from the knee down) and his left arm (from the left chest area to the shoulder down) had to be amputated and replaced with something mechanical—the mechanical pieces being made by Prompto with the aid of the Bride. Because of the clockwork gears that can be seen at times when his attire takes heavy damage, he became known as the Clockwork Soldier, ‘Steadfast’ being added as a play on the Steadfast Tin Soldier. With parts of his body replaced with something not organic, he was conflicted with his appearance and the damage he had sustained to where he hardly felt real anymore and more like a clock piece. With the aid of his bride and his companions, Gladiolus was able to see he was still very much human to them and someone important in their lives they could not be without, giving him a renewed sense of self-worth. 

Staying with the horseman motif, Gladiolus mostly wears a near black red, his attire tattered in some places from the battles he’s endured. He wears the data goggles made by Prompto about his neck (unless out in the open on the airship) and upon the leather strap buckles that cross his chest, there are swords etched into the golden latches.

* * *

 

 _Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer._

**Name** : Ignis Scientia

 **Age** : 32

 **Title(s)** : The Horseman of Pestilence (or commonly known as The Horseman of the Plague/rarely as Horseman of Conquest), Keeper of the Keys (the Collared Man mainly in Niflheim), The Bride’s Right Hand

 **Position(s)** : Chef/ (former) Doctor/ First Mate/ Records Keeper/ (former) Navigator/ Strategist

 **Aggro** : “You have dared to strike down those who matter most to me? You **_dare_** venture here to my sanctum and threaten my brother King and my Bride? I will see to it my poisoned blades find your wretched heart no matter the cost!”

            “Logic is often trepidation’s prey—your senses have failed you in terms of what is valiant and what is reckless.”

 **Slaying a target** : “This is it!”

                            “I bloody my hands in great worth for my Bride. Your trinkets and gear will be put to good use for her and perhaps, if she is forgiving, your body as well.”

 **Defeat** : “I will…curse you…should you lay a hand on the one I love. My Bride…forgive me…! I’ve fought till the last…breath…”

            “My liege…my Bride…my all…I’ve failed you both…!”

 **Diary of the Bride** : The man I thought so little of has become my confidant and practically a man with a thousand secrets he holds close to his heart from when I have spoken to him in clandestine. He appeared to me as one cold, stoic, unmoving force…I felt a chill of something in him that made me resist the very thought of ever balancing him on the scale of love with the others when Noctis, in kind, asked me to treat his friends equally. However, that otherworldly coldness dissipated the moment Ignis treated me as though I were truly the only person that mattered in this world in regards to his heart. 

My lips flowed like a fountain of truth to him—unyielding and ever clear—as he did the same in turn. Secrets that we kept harbored whether in regret, rejoice, or otherwise, we secured them with a lock and key in our breast, only opening them to one another in the late hours of the constant night. He was the first I told…the first I told in regards to my wishes that had been dashed the moment that bastard, Ardyn, intentionally harmed me after he invaded my airship years ago. 

If I were to have one thing in this rotting world, I would have liked it to be a child with any of you, but in all my attempts after his threat, I found my possibility to be a mere low to nonexistent percent. 

You’ve tried, my love…You were the first to try with all your might to grant my wish be it any treatment you could think of in terms of food and any spell that could remove this damage done upon my body to make it so, and I thank you, but I know it will never be enough. 

Ignis, my husband, my keeper of secrets—bless you and your endless selfless ways to care for me and your brothers. 

Y/N

 **Mini-Bio** : When the world of Eos was dying in the encroaching night, sky pirates and a world of steam became more prevalent over time, leading to the Bride and her airship, The Arcadia, being one of the first few. When Noctis took to the skies with Y/N, Ignis followed his friend and liege and joined her ranks as not only one of her finest warriors and tactician, but as one of her four husbands. 

While the Bride found it difficult to accept Ignis in the beginning, she discovered that his aloof behavior was more a means to remain focused and not allow his guard to fall in fear of what could become of those he cared most for. She began seeing more of a romantic and poetic side to him when it dealt with letters he often left at her door or by her bed when she would wake, and he had dropped by to check on her wellbeing. As the times went onward, the two found the most comfort in their privacy in one another’s time and sharing stories or memories that they swore to keep sealed with a kiss. The Bride turned this into a more literal sense when she gifted Ignis the collar of keys he now wears around his neck that holds every key to every room on the airship. 

When Ignis was told of the Bride’s inability to become pregnant, much to her dismay, he worked tirelessly to try and find a means to boost her fertility when she expressed interest in having a child using medical herbs and even certain foods and spells he would craft with caution to do so only to no avail. 

Willing to do anything for her and his brothers, Ignis lost his sight in a private confrontation with Ardyn that he rarely speaks clearly of—even to the Bride in private as to why and how it happened. 

With his eyesight gone and Ignis learning how to take on the world in literal darkness, the group worked together to aid him in adjusting to his new disability that became little of a hindrance in time; however, he did have to step down from his medical and navigation responsibilities as he hadn’t the ability to do either one hundred percent on his own. He still assists a doctor onboard and helps Gladiolus in navigation knowing the lay of the land by heart, but he does neither without help. 

Staying with the horseman motif, Ignis does wear a white, decorative outfit when onboard the airship, but when out in the opening and invading enemy lands, he switches to something a bit more gray and darker so as not to stand out. Upon his neck, he wears a metal collar that hangs several keys from the front to the back, each one known so well by heart that when he became blind, he hardly had difficulty finding them once more. The keys to Noctis’ and the Bride’s bedrooms are actually poisoned, and if anybody touches them without the proper warding gear, they will be horribly affected. The bow and arrow symbol of the Horseman of Conquest is actually hidden on the back of the collar he wears—the arrow seeming to fashion a key instead of an actual arrow. The only one with little use for the data goggles, Prompto did create an earpiece for Ignis that feeds him information as he so needs. 

While the others will call the Bride by her name at times in private, Ignis is the only one to merely say her name when he is being stern or serious in some matters he wishes for the Bride not to overlook. He sees calling her as anything else viewing her as less than, and he wants her to know the importance she has in his heart by giving her an empowering title in his life.

* * *

 _When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth._

**Name** : Noctis Lucis Caelum

 **Age** : 30

 **Title(s)** : The Horseman of Death (or simply Death), The Forgotten King (Fallen King to some in Niflheim), The Reaper

 **Position** : Captain

 **Aggro** : “You’ve brought down my three brothers in a vile attempt to get through me to my Bride. Your luck has run out, for you face death himself, and he is enraged.”

            “You wish to kill me? Heh…I will see to it that you’re guided into the light of the afterworld even if it means taking you with me.”

 **Slaying a target** : “All too easy.”

                            “You gambled and lost—now, to revive my brothers and tend to my Bride.”

 **Defeat** : (??) It is rare anybody has ever defeated him or brought him close as the Bride usually heals him if nearby.

 **Diary of the Bride** : My King of Kings...the weapons of death and destruction you wield I will greatly sheath in the protective comfort and bring you life and calmness as you have to my heart in my dying world. 

You surrendered everything to join me for what you say was freedom but I want to insist it was otherwise as, even my times in raiding your city back when light still very much was hardly a fable, you looked at me as something beyond that of a nuisance but with intrigue and a sort of want that even now is hard to place back those many years ago. We understood one another then and we still do even now. You felt like a part of me that had gone missing, and as Eos began to slowly decay in this world lost from the embrace of its gods, you were the only being that truly mattered to me. 

Offering your friends as companions to me, you entrusted me with their hearts as well but only if I would swear to love each equally and never unbalance the scale of their devotion to me and mine to them. In private…I will admit that I do love them all equally, but when it comes to you, a part of me regrets to say I love you far more than I am sure you would allow. 

With my yearning for a child still very much a wish that is but a dying light in this gnawing darkness, I would have wanted the first I ever bore to be yours. 

This world may continue to forget your name as the years pass and regale you only as a deadly symbol for peace in the stance of Lucis, but I and your brothers will forever know and worship your legacy even if there is no throne for you to sit given the fall of Insomnia. No…the throne of which you sit now is but the ethereal vision of such in my heart with me beside you. You kneel to me in worship daily, but in my fantasy I would gladly take to my knees and kiss the ring of the True King of Eos. 

Oh, Noctis…my King of light, my friend, my husband, my everything—keep our family strong and protected. 

Y/N

 **Mini-Bio** : When the world of Gods and Oracles came to a bitter close no thanks in kind to Niflheim’s madness to conquer, the era of darkness and steam soon took over and brought an end to what hope the world had. The Bride, Y/N, prior to these events often raided cities and stole from small towns in order to survive what she felt was the beginning of the end when they first managed to kill Shiva, and in doing so, caught the attention of Prince Noctis. 

When he first saw her as a teen, he managed to catch her but only to ask for a moment of her time—wanting to know more about her life out there in the sky in this steam powered ship she had come across somehow. The Bride relented in being spared her life and having the Prince look the other way in her thieving, and during these stories, she found his interest entertaining, stopping by on some nights to share with him in her adventures in the late hours. 

As the tales continued, Y/N’s interest grew in him. However, upon the Empire invading some odd years ago with Noctis and the group very much in Insomnia, the Bride offered Noctis a means for escape—a means for freedom. The young Prince took it without a second thought, his friends joining him in haste as well. While she aided him in trying to defend his city with her airship, it was but a loss and only a few survivors remained. 

Upon the Arcadia airship, Noctis vowed his revenge on the enemy Empire and so worked with his friends and the Bride to reclaim Insomnia only to have it be a ruined city too far gone to be reconstructed when the everlasting night finally took hold of Eos. 

Noctis denounced his title as King, merely taking the Bride’s offer to be her lover and equal and swearing they would find a way to bring light back to Eos; in the meantime, attacking Niflheim and thieving from them to keep Lucis alive and well when it came to his people (to a lesser degree, supporting and stealing from Accordo as well). When accepting the Bride’s hand in marriage, he insisted his friends be treated as equals in her heart as well as she was and continued to be the only woman they had come to trust and love, beckoning to her call whenever she so asked as though she were their queen. He is adamant about her love being distributed equally among them as they all serve her loyally. 

Keeping with the horseman motif, Noctis does wear a dark, ashen gray colored attire with a tattered cloak that is nearly reminiscent of death himself in some paintings. While he sports no known emblem of the Horseman of Death, some that have managed to fight him and live have said that, at his limits, he brings his weapons together to create an unholy scythe that can cut any living creature in two or curse them with the death spell—very few have seen it, so it remains on the boundary of legend as of current. Normally, Noctis wears the data goggles made by Prompto on his head, but has been seen taking them off when he’s not off of the airship. 

While the airship is owned and even partially made by the Bride, Noctis rules it as her captain with his wife beside him. He has been known never to make brash decisions without her say-so at the very least (you only do that once).

* * *

 

 _And this…this would be the time that the gods would judge those living in the world and ask for them to repent before they died._

**Name** : Y/N

 **Age** : Y/A

 **Title(s)** : The Bride of the Four Horsemen (or simply the Bride), Bride of Chaos (the Witch in Niflheim)

 **Position(s)** : Captain, Tactician

 **Aggro** : “I refuse to waste my breath on one as impudent as you…as you dare to steal away those closest to me!”

            “My Kings have fallen? You will not make it out alive as my anger and sorrow erupt into an uncontrollable force!”

 **Slaying a target** : “I have no use for one as vile and corrupt as you—be gone!”

                           (Merely walks away, dismissing her spell as she has no words to give.)

 **Defeat** : (??) It is rare anybody has gotten past Noctis to know if she says anything at defeat.

 **Diary of the Bride** : I spent most my life on this airship with only cheerful company in such dark and trying times. Prompto, Gladio, Ignis, Noctis…my lords and loves—I would do anything in your honor should you ask it of me, though I know you serve me more as a queen than I feel I am worthy of being. 

You’ve sworn your allegiance to me and that we would find a cure for this godless world, but…I often wonder if that will ever be so. The gods have abandoned us—have abandoned **_me_**. I am a failure to them…little known to you all… 

Maybe I should have accepted his offer…maybe I should have gone with him to bring forth this so-called paradise he spoke so freely of so that the people of Eos would suffer no more, but, King Noctis…it was in your eyes I saw more love than lust when I compare him to you, and I wanted something comforting in this world—something I knew he could never grant me.

 **Mini-Bio** : The Bride, an aloof woman who was one of the first few to usher in the idea of steam in the dying world of Eos when light ceased to exist after the death and destruction of god and oracle. A woman with powerful control over many magical spells including healing—an art form long since forgotten in terms of magic and merely potion based after some odd years—she caught the eye of the last of the gods who gave her an offer she tried to perform only to be sabotaged by darkness. 

Sometime prior to said events, the Bride encountered Ardyn who struck a private deal with her in the coming of the endless night to which she refused—resulting in his curse upon her and the Bride’s worry as to why the gods in those dying times no longer looked to her as pure and desirable. 

Unable to produce an heir, the Bride is concerned with the idea her own husbands’ legacies will die with the rest of the world but tries regardless of what Ardyn had done. 

Loving each of the four men on her ship equally at Noctis’ wishes, she still takes the most care and interest in the King of Lucis, feeling he is like a fellow, fallen spirit that she can lean upon when times are tough as he as well feels he has failed the gods’ plans somehow. 

While against enemies, the Bride seems the most cruel and unmoving of women—ordering the death of any who would dare stand up against her—but in the peace of her airship and with those she loves at her side, she is far more warming and welcoming with a motherly nature.


	2. Chapter 2

_When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not damage the oil and the wine.”_

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

Stepping foot on enemy soil was hardly something I would consider a treat. Niflheim had remained our most sworn enemy as years had past and even the Island of Accordo was aggressive to most Imperials that dared to set foot on their soil given the hell they had damned us all to. However, with no Oracle to bring light upon the world and even the gods now mere shells of their former selves, even the enemy had to be spoken to on occasion when it came to agreements with airspace and even bartering as supplies was harder to come by at times.

With one of my consorts at my side, I ventured boldly to a group of four men who had offered to trade quite a few pounds of food for airship parts and knowledge only I and a few others could give. They too had managed to make airships of cogs and steam in time but not nearly as effective as they wished. While I would prefer to leave them grounded with no knowledge of such things I had a land of people to think of now and a family I did not wish to starve.

I turned in the perpetual darkness to Ignis, my keeper of secrets and the man I trusted with almost everything in terms of business and pleasure. “Are you certain you are well enough to venture out as this, my love?” I asked quietly between us, reaching my hand to his arm he had curved in dignity and respect behind his back where his hands clasped to keep himself bound to the danger we were to walk into.

“I’ve walked far more dangerous paths, my Bride,” responded Ignis in kind, his arm moving then to allow my hand the pleasure in grasping his. “It’s been several years since the loss of my vision, and I assure you—I am just fine.”

He would hide it on my behalf, but I know he was irritated at times I would baby him so much, but I could not help but be concerned for a man that went from seeing the beauty of the world to seeing nothing at all in a private confrontation he had with one of my own personal inner daemons. My eyes turned to the men I saw just ahead surrounding themselves in light to keep the daemons at bay as well as to show us exactly where they were in plain sight not far from the outskirts of Gralea. I could trust only a handful of Niffs …so this meeting made my stomach knot up in anxiety.

“They are just up ahead,” I whispered to Ignis, my hold upon his hand tightening all the more.

His lips thinned in the small veil of light we had, the lantern in my possession swinging ever slightly to chase the shadows away. “Indeed,” he seemed to growl in response. “I can hear their foul whispers on the wind…be on your guard, my Bride.”

The men moved forward to close the gap between us. “Planned to keep us waiting all damn day?” one of the soldiers asked angrily remaining at the front, the other three in the group holding guns for their protection as they trusted us as much as we did them.

I huffed in irritation at the impatience they would so boldly show given what we had to offer them. “And when has there ever been a sense of ‘day’?” Angrily, I gestured at them as they were all to blame in my eyes. “Your superiors saw fit to that years ago. You would do well to remember patience in these times is a virtue.”

One of the soldiers scoffed, nodding towards my husband at my side. “Brought only the collared bastard with you?”

The keys hanging upon the collar around Ignis’ neck clinked ever slightly together as he turned to acknowledge the unwarranted comment. Even in the darkness I could feel his distain for the remark though he remained diplomatic. “My husband is blind, not deaf,” I spat in annoyance. “You will show him respect or this exchange is over before it has even begun.”

Ignis knew what was on the line and it was there he raised his hand to my offer to attack and end the agreement right then and there with a shake of his head. “If you have what we agreed upon then I see no reason to continue this banter much further,” Ignis insisted, wishing for it all to end as well it seemed in his own peaceful way.

The man that I could only assume was their leader in this pointed at me. “Do you have what we agreed upon as well?” His men raised their guns as if expecting us to betray them then and there.

Ignis turned to me and it was there I sighed in annoyance at having to exchange such personal information with the Empire. “Give it to them,” I whispered to my husband, witnessing with a heavy heart as Ignis pulled the rolled up parchment from his coat to offer at an extended reach for them to take.

One of the three men behind the leader snatched it without concern but the one in the center did indeed raise his gun. “And the parts? Don’t try anything, Witch…!”

The clicking of the weapon fazed me little, my brow wrinkling in dismay at their treacherous words. “Show us the food in those crates, and I will whistle for our chocobos to bring the crates of airship parts you require.”

The man seemed to hesitate and in that moment of hesitation, I curled my fingers as I prepared myself to strike if they so much as gave me a reason to. However, much to my surprise, he nodded to one of his fellow men and one of the six crates was pushed over to let me see what was indeed within them. Ripping the top off I found the meat, vegetables, and fruits that had been such a rarity to get as of late for the people of Lucis. Just seeing some of those vegetables and fruits alone was a shock.

“Thank the gods,” I murmured in delight, hand to my chest in relief. In the glowing moment I felt my husband’s hand weigh upon my shoulder to show his support. “With these we can even pull a few seeds from things and grow our own in some of the inner gardens in Lucis.” It was like breathing in salvation for the first time. Embracing Ignis tightly, he welcomed the gesture but it was quickly interrupted by the impatience of the Niffs before us.

The soldier’s hand was outstretched as if expecting I could just magically conjure them to our side. “Don’t keep stalling, Witch—the parts?”

Digging into my pocket I removed the chocobo whistle and summoned the two birds that were dragging behind the crates full of my part of the arrangement so the Niffs would have their means to make their own airships a bit better. “You may look in turn,” I offered, stepping to the side to let them peer into one of the wooden boxes so they could be certain I didn’t double cross them.

The guns were raised once more and the aggressive and threatening click of them made Ignis step before me with his arm outstretched to protect me from any attack they would dare try to unleash. I knew they wouldn’t be so foolish but just as Ignis was I too was on guard just in case.

“Perfect,” I heard their leader mutter in praise before snapping his fingers to his subordinates to get them to untie the boxes from our chocobos that had been able to drag the required pieces to the meeting.

I rolled up my sleeves and moved forward in attempt to take one of their offerings to tie to our soon to be freed chocobos. However, it was in that single moment that I felt Ignis grab my shoulder to pull me back as the barrel of the gun was soon inches from my face before I could even blink in understanding of what was happening. “Explain your treachery,” I ordered, narrowing my eyes and baring my teeth at the soldiers. “I gave you what you asked and you decide to stab me in the back?” Why was I even surprised? The majority of them were nothing but lying, murderous dogs.

“C’mon now, Witch,” expressed the leader as he casually took to his part of the bargain, denying me mine. “Did you honestly think we would allow you and your kind to make off with any provisions?” The guns were aimed at us yet again and my heart thumped wildly in my chest at the idea we both could be gunned down should either of us make one false move. His fingers motioned cruelly to me as if to allow for a horrible execution to begin. “The Bride and one of her Four Horsemen dies today—!”

I felt it inches from my cheek and heard the wind cut violently in the act as a single bullet shot from the darkness and pierced the leader directly in the head. His soul left him and if I were a younger woman witnessing the act for the first time, I would have crumpled in fear, but after years of this sort of horrible violence, you grow used to it. It’s as numbing and simple to ingest as breathing or taking your first step out of bed.

The three other men stood still, guns lowered in absolute shock. Fear struck the remaining two when the next fell from the precision of the gunman just out of sight.

Quickly, they both looked to the darkness surrounding them with their weapons at the ready. “The Sniper! She brought the fucking—!” His words were caught in a horrific gurgling sound as he choked on his own blood before falling to his face when the next shot caught its target.

Ignis heard the other threatening to run in fear as the sound of the gun hit the ground in his attempts to surrender. In the past perhaps he would have been merciful but after awhile of private talks and other things laid to rest upon him, he grew resentful at the very thought someone would be so bold as to try and even consider laying a hand on me. Spell dagger in hand, I watched as he threw with such accuracy and deadly aim he caught the man in the throat, ending him in one single hit. He breathed out his relief, calling back his weapon before touching an earpiece he and I both had that was linked to our gunman.

“Outstanding work, Prompto,” Ignis applauded as I ventured forward to grab the parchment that was now marred by the leader’s blood.

Prompto’s small laughter echoed in our ears as the background noise over the device insinuated he was getting up from where he had been lying down on his front in cover, waiting for the perfect moment to strike if anything happened. “I had a feeling they wouldn’t exactly be willing to see things eye-to-eye.”

A smile formed upon my lips as joined into the conversation with the mere push of a button. “You certainly outdid yourself, my love.”

Again, it was as though I could hear him smile at my compliment. “How is the food? Are all the crates actually filled with it or did they try to scam us there too?” Prompto asked. He was high up on one of the nearby hillsides. Ever since this agreement came into play I knew to ask him along but to see to it he remained in the background with his gun at the ready just in case the Niffs actually wanted to play foul.

“From what I can smell beyond the stench of blood there appears to be all sorts of food here,” Ignis replied. He even gestured to one in the back. “That one seems to have fish, I believe. Hard to mistaken that odor.”

“Not bothering you any, is it?” I asked Ignis as I ventured to the box regardless to be certain of the fact to find that it was indeed true—fish of various sorts were within it with a bunch of ice to cushion the crate and keep the product fresh.

“It is hardly bothersome in the grand scheme of things, my Bride,” responded Ignis as he checked to be certain everything was in order. He touched upon his earpiece to contact Prompto once more. “We will reconvene at the landing site, Prompto. Do you think you can get there just fine on your own?”

“Ah, c’mon, Iggy! I’ve done this a hundred times,” the gunman scoffed playfully. “You guys don’t need help moving the luggage, do ya?”

“We’ve got this just fine, honey,” I responded as I checked everything to be certain it was all there. “Get back to the Arcadia and tell our King to bring the ship here as the birds will not be strong enough to pull all of this on their own.”

“On it!” Prompto responded cheerfully, ending the transmission to do so.

“Well?” Ignis asked, turning to where he could hear me fondling with the produce. “Is everything truly in order?”

“No wonder they wanted to double-cross us,” I commented with a sigh at the thought, knocking one of their bodies out of my way with my foot to get to the final box. “Everything is very much here. It’s like nearly a year’s worth of food for them.”

Ignis’ hand went to his hip, the other to his mouth in thought. “Prompto will probably want to drop one of the crates off at a nearby town or two even if in the enemy Empire. We best make certain we divide it evenly in this case so nobody goes without food.”

Smiling at the thought, I nodded. “Yes, he will—I know. In all honesty, my dear, I trust him to divide it fairly.” Ignis’ hand touched upon my own as though he could truly see me and where my grip resided firmly on the top of the boxed package before me. “Even in the worst of people he tries to shine the brightest light within them when I feel they hardly deserve his kindness at times.”

Hearing me confess such a thing, Ignis’ lips thinned curiously. “Tell me, my dear, were you going to actually let them get away with such plans?”

A grin hooked upon my lips that I couldn’t refuse. “After what their chancellor did to me those many years ago…?” My voice stalled as I felt a lump of anger, hate, and sadness swell in my throat. “They are lucky my own hands did not end them had they turned their backs to me.” My grin fell into a bitter frown, grip tightening all the more at the mere memory that felt like an everlasting nightmare.

Hearing the underlying need for revenge in my voice and feeling the tensing of my hand upon his own, Ignis moved to my cheek to sate my anger the best way he knew how with a kiss and a breathed promise: “I am working hard to fix it, my Bride…”

My hand graced his opposite cheek as if to keep him close and to keep my fury bound within me. If anybody, he was the sheath of calmness to my sword of needed retribution. “I know,” I practically whispered in response, eyes shut tightly to bat away the anger that had rotted away to tearful sorrow. “Thank you, Ignis…”

 

 

It was awhile yet but eventually our airship the Arcadia was within sight. The chocobos knew to withstand the harsh winds the engine excited, merely grazing nearby as Noctis got the crew to descend as needed. With the engines at a calm, I witnessed as the loading dock at the rear opened to reveal Prompto, Gladiolus, and Noctis with a few other men and women to aid in ushering what was needed onboard.

Gladiolus ventured off the landing first to note the dead bodies, curling his lip in disgust at the sight. “So it was a trap,” he grumbled, squatting down to look over one of the soldiers to see if there was anything worth taking in terms of bartering or even keeping for the crew.

“I guess you cannot really call it that if we already knew they were going to cross us,” responded Noctis with an annoyed sigh at the sight.

“Awfully transparent indeed,” answered Ignis as he moved closer to his brothers while I motioned to the crewmembers to help with loading the Arcadia with the bounty. “But,” he began, crossing his arms upon his chest, “we were rewarded as the victor and so the victor goes the spoils.”

“So I heard,” smiled Noctis, hand resting lazily upon his hip. “Seems Prompto’s finger slipped on the trigger when they threatened you both.”

“Nasty habit, that,” joked the advisor as Prompto was too busy tending to the chocobos to really chime in. “We’ll be certain it doesn’t happen again without proper warning next time.”

My heart beat wildly in my chest as I hurried towards Noctis with my arms spread to accept him in a tight embrace, and by tight embrace I mean the only one I knew how to give in such means to him—wrapping my arms and legs around him completely as he knew how to handle me and my weight after years of being surprised by it. “It is good to see you, love,” I whispered close to his ear, the bristles of his beard knowing how in their own way by touch to sooth me after the excitement and upset earlier.

Noctis’ hands supported me just under my thighs before ushering me back down to stand so he could cradle the back of my head in his touch. “It is good to know you’re all alright, Y/N.” Moving back just a ways from one another, my King’s fingertips graced my cheek before allowing a single kiss to rouse my love of him all the more.

“Got a few potions and things here,” shouted Gladiolus as he dumped what he could into the sack he had with him. Standing to his feet, I could hear the clicking and grinding of the gears in parts of his body as he did so though his attention went to the guns they still clasped in their hands. His eyes narrowed in a sort of disgust that I could understand and relate to when I was a witness to it. “Take these,” he ordered to the nearby men who were working under him, gesturing to the guns. “They won’t be needing them anymore.”

Prompto witnessed as the crates were pulled onboard with a worrisome frown that I could easily read when the subtle kweeh of the chocobos brought me to my attention. “So much food they were going to give up,” he seemed to mourn as he held the leather reins of the birds to guide them back onto the airship. “They were not expecting us to kill them.”

A warm smile to our worried Famine, I placed my hands upon his shoulders from behind to try and relax him. “Prompto, you can look through and separate the food as you need.” My arms moved inward, looping about his chest as I paused in our stride just off of the boarding deck within the sanctum of our airship. “Just remember that there are three people in this case we’re thinking for—Lucians, Niffs, and our own family.”

“I promise—I got this!” Prompto insisted, thumbing towards himself as the last of it was ushered onto the airship to where we could at least take our leave into the sky to figure our what to do from there.

Admittedly, I always felt safer in the air in these times…While daemons and even our own enemies found a means to find us up in the skies it was not nearly as frightening as stepping foot onto the soil below.

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**Arcadia** **’s Kitchen**

“Be certain you leave at least a few fish and greens for me,” Ignis insisted to Prompto as he was busy trying to divide it all fairly there in the kitchen some time later after the departure from Niflheim’s soil. His gloved hand rested on the nearby kitchen table while keeping as much of a watch on Prompto as he could being blind as he was.

“You know Noct would prefer to fish himself even if it’s a bit dangerous out there lately,” Prompto reminded Ignis as he still balanced the weight of each fish on a scale in the room before putting a few salmon into the crate back to Niflheim and the rest in a box heading to Lestallum where most of the action was in Lucis in terms of hubs for safety.

“Ah, yes, far be it for me to be the one to take away his Majesty’s favorite pastime,” spoke Ignis as if to lightly jab at the very idea Noctis would still be crazy enough to do such a thing during late hours. “Regardless, Prompto, I need a few to prepare a recipe I am working on for our Bride.”

Putting away a few various peppers and lettuce into the box for the crew, Prompto moved it off to the side finding the fourth of the six boxes full and done. “How many and for how long do you want to make this dish?”

“To be certain it will work as intended, I need enough to at least suffice for a week or two,” urged Ignis, aiding Prompto in moving the crates as he knew the man was stronger since his youth but still struggled time and again with certain things.

“Well,” sighed Prompto as he leaned on the box to think on what to do, “I’ll see what I can do. I don’t want the people of Niflheim to go without any fish all because those soldiers made a huge gamble.”

“Forgive my callousness in the matter,” pardoned Ignis with a slight bow to his friend, hand to his chest. “But I must remind you that this is important to us and we need to think of our own over what the enemy has.”

“Yeah but we have fishermen and fishing spots that are not near as polluted with daemons like Niflheim!” Prompto could see Ignis respond visually in a way that showed he felt as though he were at an impasse on the situation within himself, the subtle sorrowful sigh being a telling sign. “Children shouldn’t at least go hungry all because they were born as Niffs, Iggy…It’s not fair.” He motioned off at nothing in particular. “I’ve seen their fishing holes and they are dead and barren and their markets for anything seafood are just as rare.”

“Alright,” spoke Ignis with a raise of his hands to show his surrender in the matter. “Do as you must, and I will make do with what you leave for me.”

Prompto’s heart thumped painfully in his chest, old images from past times of walking the streets of Niflheim towns and cities really damning for him as they were all suffering from the poor decisions made by their superiors. “I’m sure we can get Noct to go fishing for us later. Just remind him. You know it’s one of the few times he has a smile on his face lately.”

Ignis’ brow rose curiously at the comment, the heavy silence in the room so much so that the clicking of the keys, which hung from the collar upon his neck, could easily be heard. “When does he smile the other…?”

Prompto’s grin was weighed with wit, crossing his arms upon the box he was still resting himself on. “When do you think? Whenever he’s around Y/N.”

◇─◇──◇────◇────◇────◇────◇────◇─────◇──◇─◇

**Elbinistar, Niflheim Town**

We kept to the shadows regardless. As the Bride and her Four Horsemen, we had all become revered as well as feared when it came to certain locations in Eos. With some towns in Niflheim you never knew what you would get greeted with. Since I knew Gladiolus was an intimidating sort yet strong enough to pull the crate for Prompto and I, I asked our most precious Shield with us. Easily, he took the single luggage of food and situated it upon his shoulder and kept it firm as he entered into the town with the hope we would be greeted in kind.

It was a depressing sight. A majority of the light that was left gave a dying hope that their small piece of land wouldn’t be overrun in time by daemons. Some lamps had gone out completely from lack of oil to keep them going as it was apparent this town relied on primitive necessities given how far they were from the capital and any other location. It was as if the Empire saw them as useless and a need to be stomped out with how in disarray some shops even were from possibly Fire and Ice Bomb attacks.

What we deemed to be the leader of the town was at the center, wondering (unarmed) why we were coming to them and with what. He stood in such honor to die for his people for our meeting that I couldn’t help respect him even if he seemed foolish to a degree to be this careless. Where is the honor in senseless death?

“Heya,” Prompto greeted with a simple wave. “We’ve come to give back some food that your people were trying to barter with us, and we thought you might could use some of it.” He motioned to Gladio, urging him to come closer to put it down so that the thick tension of fear in the air could cease.

Doing as he was asked, our soldier put the wooden box down carefully before peeling the lid back to let them see exactly what was inside. “Go ahead,” Gladio insisted, his low voice purring innocently enough to where even the children felt less intimidated by the towering figure in the middle of the streets. “We have our share of food, and we noticed you could use some too.”

The praise and thanks from the people made me feel for a moment we were indeed back in Lucis trying to give food and money to those in dire need of it. They weren’t the type of Niffs I was expecting, really…Some villages and cities acted with such hostile force we sometimes had to drop the spoils just outside of their area so as not to cause a senseless attack. I always hated dealing with them. To me they felt ungrateful, but it was moments like these where I could see where Prompto insisted on being neutral to people who never asked to be involved in such a war.

As some of the children started to get bold in venturing closer to the food that was being handed out, Prompto turned to them with a bright smile to assure them it was alright regardless of what horror stories they may have heard of him. “Hey there!” he said in an excited whisper, moving to his knees to seem less intimidating to a small girl who looked about six and her little brother who had to have been three—the two of them dirtied and holding hands in support of one another.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say they were probably orphans given their rags for clothing and how the little girl was almost walking about naked as her clothing was rotting off of her. It was a depressing sight, seeing children separated from their parents because of war or far worse…daemon attacks.

“I am sure you both are quite hungry, yeah?” Prompto went onward to ask, watching as the little girl nodded as her brother stayed behind her too shy to truly step out to look at the Horseman of Famine. Digging into his robes, he acted as though he had misplaced something important. “I am sure I’ve got something—ah ha!” He pulled out a loaf of bread and pastry dish I recognized that was made by Ignis now and again for Noctis that Prompto must have kept for the occasion as he usually kept his and gave it away to starving children. “Do you like berries?” He asked, showing the pastry to the little girl to witness as she nodded. “It’s got berries in it, so it’s a bit juicy if you bite into it. Be careful not to make a mess.”

The small, dirty blond haired girl took the gifts graciously. “Thank you,” she whispered to Prompto as she began to break the bread for her smaller brother though keeping the pastries carefully nearby for later.

Noting their clothing and how dirty they seemed, the gunman frowned in concern. Just as I knew he was thinking, I was the same. They were so young and hardly fed properly let alone clothed so. I turned to the man who had agreed to meet with us about food, nodding towards the children off to the side. “Who do they belong to?”

“Nobody, ma’am,” he answered simply, tone harboring pain for them. “Their mum died during childbirth of the second one there and the father went missing months ago when he went out looking for a bit more oil for the lamps. We…think him dead.”

Hearing that from where he sat, Prompto bit at his lower lip as his fingers curled in disgust of what the world had become. “And nobody takes them?” he asked, a bit offended nobody would.

“Everyone about here is hardly able to feed one’s self, Famine,” spoke the man once more with a simple shrug as though such a thing was commonplace. “Nobody could possibly take on two more mouths to sate.”

It was then Prompto looked between Gladio and myself as if to ask something in that look alone. My eyes turned to our loving Shield, noticing him gazing at me with a sort of pity I rarely got to witness in him as of late. He nodded once to me, slowly, and it was there I smiled at the curious Prompto. “Take them onboard,” I insisted. “We’ll get them to Lestallum and see about someone adopting them there.”

A breath of relief passed Prompto’s lips, turning back to the children. “Hey, do you two wanna go for a ride? We’ll get you somewhere nice, yeah?” He extended his hand for the girl to take though she recoiled and looked up at him as if expecting the worst. “There’s food, water, and clothes on our ship,” he continued to encourage with his fingers relaxing to try and get the girl to accept the offer. “We can get you to someone who will take care of you every day, okay?”

The little girl looked at the tempting offer but her face still fell to despair as she cried softly. “I want my daddy,” she whimpered, apparently still holding onto the hope he would return someday.

I knew it was suicide for these two to remain as they were any moment longer. They were horribly underfed and just sickly looking. “Listen, sweetheart,” I began, falling to my knees next, “we will help you look for your daddy, okay? Until then, you need to be in better hands.” I feared the worst, but a white lie to get them onto the Arcadia was better than letting them waste away in a town where people saw them as a problem.

“So will you come with us?” Prompto asked, waiting for her to accept his hand. “I promise we’ll give you some place better.” He whispered those words not wanting to talk down to the people who were struggling as it was and in that gentle promise, the girl finally took Prompto’s gloved hand. As he was about to escort her to the ship, he paused in even rising to his feet as the small child wrapped her arms around his neck and prevented Prompto from standing right away. Holding her tightly in reassurance, he let the boy with strawberry blond hair come to him as he wished—the brother of the girl pulling at the gunman’s clothes to try and get a better way to hug his side it seemed.

I smiled at the sight but brokenheartedly in a sense. Prompto was always everyone’s sunshine…but he was always a better light to the children in Eos that were in such bad situations. Had I the ability, I would have gladly given him one of his own…


End file.
